Enrique Priego Oropeza


Enrique Priego Oropeza is a Mexican politician of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party and a former Acting Governor of Tabasco.
His arrival to the Government of Tabasco happened after the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary annulled the previous election for Governor and reversed PRI majority of Manuel Andrade Díaz, who had won the elections of October 15, 2000.

Priego - López Conflict

The cancellation of the elections for Governor took the Government by surprise, which forced the Federal congress to hold an extraordinary session to name someone who had to take the reins from the state as Temporary Governor before the imminent exit of Roberto Madrazo as chief executive, who finished to his term on December 31, 2000.
Article 47 of the state constitution says the following:
Based on this article, on December 31, 2000, the PRI parliamentary group of the 56th Legislature appointed the unlicensed Federal Deputy, Enrique Priego Oropeza, as acting governor. This action was described as legislative rashness by the PRD.
The PRD contested the nomination, arguing that on December 31 of 2000 there was no total lack of governor as Roberto Madrazo he was still in office and, in any case, that it should be the 57th Legislature, itself coming into office on January 1 of 2001, that appoint the Acting Governor.
Under this argument, legislators from the PRD, PAN, PT and two members of the PRI appointed by then Secretary General of the PRI, Adam Augusto López Hernández, as acting governor, thus creating an unprecedented post-election conflict in the state and the country had two governors in one office in a state.
After several negotiations and political wrangling, the conflicting parties came to an agreement and Enrique Priego Oropeza assumed the interim presidency and called for new elections to occur on the August 5 of 2001.